Broken
by AngelMouse5
Summary: SPOILERS FOR END OF SEASON 2! The worst has happened and as reality sinks in for the Paladins, the youngest Paladin finally breaks and it's up to the unlikeliest of her friends to comfort her.


_Disclaimer - SPOILERS FOR END OF SEASON TWO! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! Not mine, wish they were. What can I say, binge watched the entire second season and since then, this has played on my mind, so here it is. This is what I think would happen in the few minutes after the ending of episode 13 - so I have taken a few liberties and extracted this. Once again, Australian English. Please, enjoy. AM Jan, 2017_

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 **Broken**

 **by Angel Mouse**

Shiro was gone.

The seat was empty. Black Lion was unresponsive. There was no sign of Shiro, except his Bayard. The five of them stood there, surrounding his chair, staring at the empty space where he would normally sit. The looks on their faces ranged from disbelief, to worry, to fear to downright panic. Finally, Allura broke the silence that enveloped them all.

"We must find him. Come, we shall search from the command deck. Pidge, can you bring up any sensor readings from the Lions and the Castle, see if we can understand or find out what has happened to Shiro."

There was no response from the Green Paladin. "Pidge." The continuing silence from the young Paladin caused them all to look at her. And what they saw worried them. Pidge was just standing there, her face full of fear and worry. Slowly, ever so slowly, her hand reached out as if to try and touch Shiro's seat, but it seemed to hesitate as she tried to come to terms with what was in front of them all.

Allura shared a worried look with her friends and suddenly Keith understood what Pidge must have been feeling, it was the same thing he was feeling himself, and he knew what he had to do. He looked at the others and Allura. He spoke softly, trying not to disturb Pidge for a moment, trying to make sure she would be okay.

"It'll be okay, I'll look after her. You guys go and start searching." Allura nodded and they left. Keith just leaned against the wall, watching Pidge closely. He clearly recalled Shiro saying to him to look after everyone, to take over if anything happened to him. Especially to look after Pidge, as she was the youngest amongst them, and well, like a little sister to them all.

Pidge's hand finally dropped as it began to sink in that he was gone. Her heart feeling like it had been torn into a thousand pieces, again. Shiro was gone. He was her best friend on the team. He was her rock when she was really down and feeling like she was never going to find her family. He was also the last tangible, physical, link to her family. The last part of her extended family that she felt she could depend on. Slowly, as the reality of him being gone began to sink in, she slowly slid down the console and landed on the floor.

Keith knew that this was the point he was waiting for. He moved slowly off the wall and went over to her side. He knew that his own pain at losing his foster brother and fear for him would come later, once he had taken care of Pidge. Right now, she was his priority; he knew that Allura would start the search for Shiro. He sat down next to her and reached out hesitantly, unsure if he should, after all, he wasn't the friendliest of people on the team. But he knew that this is what Shiro would want him to do. Resting his hand gently on her shoulder, he spoke softly.

"Pidge, are you with me right now?" Pidge didn't react for a long moment and then finally she looked up and Keith felt his heart break again. She had been through so much already, she didn't really deserve this. He hadn't had an easy life, that was a given, but Shiro had been a huge part of his life for the last few years and having found him again, he had become even more important to him and he had finally felt that he had found a home with him and the others. And now that feeling of safety and security of having Shiro around was gone, and he felt lost once more. But one look into Pidge's eyes and he pushed his own feelings of fear and worry away.

"Keith, he's really gone, isn't he?" Her tone was so broken, so lost, that Keith couldn't help it, he pulled her into his arms. He swallowed his own fears and looked at her, knowing that for the moment he had to be strong for her.

"Yes, but we will find him. Just like we'll find your family Pidge, we must not give up hope." Pidge looked at him again. "I promise you, we will find them all." Keith put all the conviction he could muster, and the belief he felt in his words, into the tone of voice and the gentle strength of his embrace.

"Promise Keith?" Keith felt his own heart break even further. He squeezed her gently and smiled slightly at her, trying to keep his own emotions in check.

"Promise Pidge." Suddenly, the dam burst on Pidge's emotions and she began to sob in his arms. The last week had been hard on her, the fact she had found some news on Matt, the plan being put into place and the final battle against Zarkon and now this, and it was too much for the young woman. Keith just held her gently and sighed, his own heart aching with her.

They sat there for the longest time until Pidge finally cried herself out and taking a deep breath; she finally looked up at Keith. She took a deep breath and then spoke softly.

"Thank you." Keith nodded.

"Any time Pidge, are you going to be okay now?" Pidge took a deep breath.

"No, but we will be. I'm sorry Keith; I didn't mean to cry all over you." Keith gave her a soft laugh and slowly let her go.

"That's okay, I don't mind. You need to cry or talk or anything, you come see me, okay?" Pidge slowly stood up and Keith did as well. She looked at him and Keith was suddenly reminded of how young she really was. She gave him a very wobbly, tiny smile as he rested his hand on her shoulder.

"Okay." He nodded.

"Good. Right, let's go find our friend."


End file.
